Biochemical aspects of GI disease and nutrition Flashcards
During a clinical assessment what is normal for the patient in terms of nutrition?
weight - loss or gain (intentional or unintentional)
food intake
chewing/swallowing
GI symptoms - nausea, vomiting, altered bowel habits
drugs/alcohol
How can you assess food intake?
dietary recall
food diaries - unweighed food record
food weighing
What functional assessments can be done to assess nutritional status?
muscle mass - grip strength / isometric knee extension / response to electrical stimulation
hepatic secretory proteins - albumin (<35) and transferrin (<1.5g/L)
immune response in malnourished patients - cell mediated immunity
How is malabsorption defined?
wide group of conditions associated with disordered biochemistry
no specific clinical presentation - may be a group of signs or symptoms
What is the prevalence of undernutrition in hospital?
40%
What are the effects of malnutrition?
Impaired immune response - infection
decreased respiratory muscle strength - increased incidence of chest infection
impaired wound healing - prolonged recovery
inactivity - thromboembolism, pressure sores
decreased skeletal muscle strength - fatigue, inactivity, falls
impaired thermoregulation - hypothermia
How does malabsorption present and why?
pale bulky (offensive) stools - fat malabsorption or digestion abdominal distention, watery diarrhoea, and xs flatus - malabsorption of carbohydrate vague malaise, tiredness and weight loss - generalised deficiency of nutrients anaemia - deficiency of iron folate or B12 easy bruising or bleeding - deficiency of vit K failure to thrive - generalised deficiency of nutrients
How can you estimate nutritional requirements?
energy requirements = calorimetry
estimation from body weight = 25-35 kcal/kg/24 hours
prediction equations = schofield equation, harris-benedict equation and ireton-jones formula
How is basal metabolic rate calculated?
Male
BMR = 66.5 +13.75Weight +(5height-6.77age)
Female
BMR = 66.5 +19.56Weight +(1.85height-4.67age)
How does BMR vary between age and height?
With increasing height your BMR increases and with increasing age your BMR reduces
What are the different types of sugars?
intrinsic = naturally e.g. as part of the cellular structure
extrinsic = non-natural e.g. refined sugars
What are the different types of starches?
alpha glucan polysaccharides
Amylose= straight chain glucose polymer with molecular mass 100,000Da
Amylopectin = branched chain glucose polymer with molecular mass >100,000
How are carbohydrates chemically digested?
salivary amylase, pancreatic amylase and brush border enzymes (dextrinase, glucoamylase, lactase, maltase and sucrase)
How are carbohydrates absorbed?
secondary active transport (cotransport) with Na
Facilitated diffusion of some monosaccharides = enter the capillary beds in the villi, transported to the liver via the hepatic portal vein
Where is amylase found and what does it produce?
salivary and pancreatic
- digestion of alpha1,4- bonds in starch
= produces = maltose, maltotriose, short branched oligosaccharides and alpha-limit dextrins
How does maltase work and what does it produce?
splits glucose from alpha-1,4 bonds in starch up to 9 residues long
producing glucose
How does sucrase work and what does it produce?
splits sucrose producing glucose and fructose
How does isomaltase work and what does it produce?
splits glucose monomers from non-reducing ends of alpha limit dextrins
producing glucose
How does lactase work and what does it produce?
splits lactose producing galactose and glucose
How much of dietary starch isn’t absorbed?
up to 20%
- carbohydrates in the bowel are metabolised by bacteria to produce short chain fatty acids (energy source for colonocytes) + methane + hydrogen
What are primary and secondary lactase deficiencies?
primary = eu 5-15%, africans/asians >70%
secondary = IBD, chronic alcoholism, coeliac disease, tropical sprue
How can you investigate for carbohydrate absorption?
xylose absorption
- pentose sugar 50% excreted in urine - not reliable test so not used
lactose intolerance test
- serial glucose measurements after 50g lactose
hydrogen breath tests
- glucose hydrogen breath test = bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine
- lactose hydrogen breath test = problem digesting lactose
- fructose hydrogen breath test = difficulty digesting fructose
- sorbitol hydrogen breath test = sorbitol is a sugar alcohol used to to investigate rapid intestinal transit
- lactulose hydrogen breath test = galactose and fructose transported intact to the colon measure of ororectal transit time
How is fat absorbed?
emulsified by bile phospholipids
stabilised by bile salts
lipase digestion to monoacylglycerol and free fatty acids
solubilised in micelles
What are the stages of fat digestion and absorption?
1) pre-treatment = emulsification by bile salts
2) enzymes - pancreatic lipase
3) absorption of glycerol and short chain fatty acids = absorbed into capillary blood villi and transported via hepatic portal vein
How are monoglycerides and fatty acids absorbed?
cluster with bile salts and lecithin to form micelles
then released by micelles to diffuse into epithelial cells
then combine with proteins to form chylomicrons
then enter lacteals and are transported to systemic circulation
What are essential fatty acids?
phospholipids - linoleic acid and alpha- linoleic acid
precursors of arachadonic acid, eicosapenaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid
What is fat absorption dependent upon?
bile production - dependent on liver secretion = bile salts, phospholipids and cholesterol and also having patent ducts
pancreatic enzymes = functional lipase
How can fat absorption be investigated?
faecal fat excretion
- 3/5 day collection
- usual diet pre-collection
- outmoded, no longer used
14C-triolein breath test
- if 14C labelled triolein absorbed, 14C02 will appear in breath
- but lung/liver disease may give false results